You and Me make 3
by hatedinnocence03
Summary: The title should give you an inkling about the type of story this is, but just in case, this is a Romitri pregnancy fanfic so read it if it's your cup of tea and don't forget to drop me a line if you like it :p Disclaimer: Sadly enough, I do not own VA, Richelle Mead does. But this plotline is all mine. Cheers!
1. The Revelation

"Can we talk?", Rose asked him in a whisper, making Dimitri drop the kitchen towel he'd been wiping the dishes with and turn around to face her. He studied her carefully for a few moments before nodding silently and sitting down at their kitchen table.

Things had not been going well recently, to say the least. Over the last two months, Rose had somewhat become irritable, which Dimitri could deal with; I mean come on - she was barely out of her teens, guarding the Moroi monarch, in her final university semester, recently married ,and leading the life of a guardian. As far as Dimitri was concerned, she had every right to be stressed.

What he was not okay with was her bipolarity. In the last month, she had accused him of not being in love with her anymore and succumbed to tears on more than one occasion, while at the same time, she herself had spurned his amorous advances; pretending to be tired and sleepy whenever he tried to get close to her.

So, Dimitri was confounded…he couldn't help but wonder if she'd gotten tired of him. If she was regretting tying herself to him for life…but his pride prevented him from asking her. Well, that and her aloofness.

In fact, over the last two weeks, they'd come to resemble amicable roommates – bedmates – rather than young lovers with their platonic everyday dealings - but Dimitri still hoped that Rose would just tell him what was bothering her instead of bottling everything up and suffering in silence. He loved her, and in spite of recent indications, he knew she loved him too - with all her heart. So he - although concerned - knew that she'd tell him in due time, and he just needed to wait this…whatever it was…out.

So tonight, after another awkward, almost-silent dinner, Rose had retired to the bedroom once again and Dimitri had started washing their dinner utensils. He was – understandably - surprised when she rejoined him not ten minutes later instead of going to bed, which had become her norm nowadays.

As he sat facing Rose at the table, he couldn't help but study her more closely. She looked beautiful - as she always did, even without a stitch of makeup. But now, her eyes were troubled and dark shadows haunted them. Her face, although glowing, looked a little pale and overall, she looked…afraid?

"What's going on, Roza?", Dimitri asked, tentatively reaching his hands towards her. He was relieved when instead of recoiling from him, Rose clasped his hands in both of hers and held onto them for dear life.

But his relief was short-lived. Her hands were freezing. "Rose! Please!" Dimitri insisted, alarmed by her cold and clammy hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm so-so sorry, Dimitri", Rose burst into tears, looking down at the table, and Dimitri felt panic swell in his body.

"What for?", he asked, half-terrified of knowing. "What are you sorry for, Rose?"

"I thought you wouldn't believe me, so I didn't tell you at first. And then, the doctor said that the first three months were the most uncertain, so I didn't wanna give you false hope, and then-", Rose rambled between sniffling, but slowly the words made it across to Dimitri and he interrupted her.

"What doctor?" Dimitri asked perplexed, his mind still trying to figure out what she was saying. "What wouldn't I believe?"

Rose heaved a shaky sigh before releasing his hands from her death-grip and retrieving three envelopes from her coat-pocket. Wait, why was she wearing a coat, Dimitri wondered momentarily, but then his attention was diverted by the imposing manila envelopes she was pressing into his hands.

"Roza", he said softly, ignoring her offerings. "Please, love. Tell me what's going on? You know I love you, and you know I'd believe you, no matter how crazy things sound. You can trust me."

She stared into the brown eyes that she loved so much for what seemed like an infinity before nodding her head. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise you'll listen to everything before saying anything, okay?"

Rose didn't know how she'd survive if Dimitri didn't believe her, but she was done hurting both of them by hiding her secret. She knew she couldn't suppress it anymore and Dimitri did deserve to know the truth…but she needed to extract this promise from him before anything else.

When Dimitri nodded his assent and covered her hands with his again, Rose took a deep breath and began. "I don't know if you've noticed, but for the past couple of weeks I've not exactly been all rainbows-and-roses - not that I usually am, but you know….my temper and emotions were all over the place and the littlest of things set me off. Not to mention I've been hungrier than usual and suffering from dizzying spells. In fact, Lissa practically dragged me to a physician after I almost fainted on her, and then…" she paused her narrative to take a shuddering breath before continuing, holding onto his eyes as her anchor. "The doctor, he conducted some tests, and when the results came back, I was shocked. At first I couldn't believe it, but he did retests and the results all came back same. You were on a raid, I think. So, I came back home and had a total breakdown. I couldn't believe it was happening, but…"

By now, Dimitri was not only listening closely to Rose but he was also coming to some conclusions of his own. Rose's behavior over the past few weeks; the terrified, guarded expression on her face and her rollercoaster of emotions were starting to make sense. "You're pregnant, aren't you?" he asked her levelly, forcing his guardian mask up to hide his emotions.

"Dimitri, you have to believe me - it's yours!" she burst out, stark terror apparent on her face. Terror for what he'd think, Dimitri knew now. Terror for how he'd react…

"Here, see this? Take this!" Rose frantically shoved the first envelope back onto his hands.

"What's this?" Dimitri asked her, opening the envelope and peering inside.

"A DNA test confirming that the baby is yours," Rose replied tearfully.

"How did you-?" Dimitri began, but Rose cut him off.

"I took your toothbrush and a few hair strands to the doctor and told him to work his magic. It came back positive. See the paper, Dimitri?! I swear I'm telling the truth."

Dimitri didn't so much even open the paper before setting it down on the table. "How long have you known?"

"Three weeks," Rose promptly replied. "I didn't want to tell you before the three-month mark just in case…in case something went wrong. But I couldn't take hiding it anymore; knowing I was hurting both of us, and the stress can't be good for the baby."

At the word baby, Dimitri's head shot up from studying his and Rose's clasped hands. "The DNA test…it wasn't harmful for the baby, was it?" he asked, suddenly concerned.

"No," Rose choked out, trying to figure out what Dimitri was thinking. "Why aren't you screaming?" she asked him, adorably confused.

"Theatrics is your forte, Roza. Not mine", Dimitri shot back dryly, earning a small, wobbly smile from Rose. "But how far along are you? And who else knows?"

"I'm at the 8 week mark, and no one else knows except me and the doctor. And now, you."

"What about Lissa?" he asked her, getting up to fetch her a glass of water.

"I thought you should be the first to know. I told her that the doctor said I was fatigued and I needed to take it easy for the next few months," Rose admitted with a small smile and gulped down the water Dimitri offered her. "Technically, it's true."

"Leave it to you to find technicalities in this situation," Dimitri shook his head, sitting down at the table again.

"Dimitri seriously, why aren't you screaming or freaking out? Not that I don't appreciate it, you know. But…why?"

"Because I trust you, Roza. And I love you," Dimitri said simply, dragging Rose's chair towards his. "And looking back, the signs do add up."

"And you're not a bit concerned about how this is possible?" Rose asked skeptically, gesturing to her still-flat stomach.

"We haven't exactly played life by its rules so far, you and I - so why can't we break the rules again and have another miracle?" the ex-strigoi asked his ex-shadow-kissed lover, reaching across to brush his fingers gently against her abdomen. "Also, when we went to Baia, Yeva had said something like this might happen someday. I'd never dared hope, but given the amount of time we've spent in each other's beds the last half-year, does this really surprise you?"

"So, you're not mad?" Rose asked, studying his face.

"Mad?" Dimitri scoffed. "No, Roza! No. I'm not mad. I'm happy. So, so happy. We're having a baby. You've given me everything I could hope for in this life, and now, you're giving me the impossible - our child. Hush Roza, don't cry", Dimitri said softly, leaning forward to kiss away her fresh tears before engulfing her in a hug.

"I thought you wouldn't believe me…that you'd leave me", Rose confessed, her voice muffled against his chest. "I can't bear losing you Dimitri. I love you."

"And I love you, Rose," Dimitri soothed her. "I stood on the wedding altar and promised to love and cherish you for life, to never leave you. How could you doubt that?"

"I'm sorry, love," Rose apologized, brushing her cheek against his chest lovingly. "I'm sorry for all the anguish I've caused us."

For a while, the two dhampirs sat together, taking comfort in each other before Dimitri broke the silence. "Why are you wearing the coat?"

Rose lifted her head off his chest and gave him an embarrassed smile. "Just in case you didn't want me here, I was gonna go over to Lissa's."

Dimitri nodded before his next question. "And the other envelopes?"

"The first one has my blood reports, which confirmed the pregnancy, and the other one has an ultrasound photo," Rose pointed to the envelopes in question.

"Photo?" Dimitri queried, sitting upright and ripping the photo out of it's envelope. Rose leaned against his chest again, smiling at his enthusiasm as he peered at the image of her lower abdomen. "That tiny dot in the center, that's our kid", Rose smiled, gesturing to the tiny blur in the photo. Dimitri brought it closer to his face and squinted at it for a moment before a breathtaking smile took over his visage.

"We're having a baby, Rose," he informed her with a laugh, seizing her lips with a searing kiss. Rose kissed him back with all she had, both repenting her silence and expressing her gratitude to him. When he'd had his fill, Dimitri released her from his hold to cover her stomach with his hands. And then he whispered, "Hi baby, it's your Dad. Mommy and I love you so much. We can't wait to meet you…"

Tears sprung again to Rose's eyes and both she and - a now panicking - Dimitri wiped furiously at them. "Sorry - hormones", she explained apologetically, trying to stop the waterworks. "But that was so sweet, Comrade!" she declared, leaning forward to buss his cheek.

"Sweet or not, stop crying Roza", Dimitri ordered her. "All of this emotional upheaval and stress can't be good for the baby. And go to bed right now, I'll get you some water and some fruit to eat. Did the doctor say what you can eat and not? What about vitamins, did he recommend them? Who's your doctor, by the way, and when's your next appointment-"

Dimitri spewed that out in a breath, and would have continued, if Rose didn't place her hand over his mouth. "Chill, Comrade. It's all under control. To answer your questions, you can come along to my next appointment, which is in 5 days and interrogate my poor doctor. As for meds, he's given me a prescription. Now, before you can ask me anything else, I'm gonna head to bed," Rose announced, standing up.

"Do you need anything?" Dimitri asked her, standing up too.

"Yeah…you," Rose answered, standing up on her toes and stealing a kiss from him. "You probably need a minute, so I'll go to bed now. But don't you keep me waiting, okay?"

"Never," Dimitri declared before he smiled his assent and kissed her forehead. When Rose glanced back on her way back to the bedroom, she saw him studying her sonogram image under the kitchen light, tears glistening in his eyes. She decided to give him his privacy and continued with her nightly routine before settling into bed.

He joined her soon, after placing a water bottle by her bedside and changing into pajamas. Then, he slipped under the covers and spooned her from behind, his jaw coming to rest on her shoulder. "Thank you, Roza, for everything. I love you," he said in an achingly loving voice before sliding his hands down to wrap around her abdomen protectively. "And I love you too, little one."

Rose turned around to face him and brushed a few strands of hair off his face. "I love you too, Comrade. _We_ love you and thank you too, for being my life." Having said her piece, Rose settled against his shoulder and fell asleep to the motion of him caressing her abdomen and humming a lullaby.

That night they both thanked whatever deities they could think of for the happiness and blessings in their life. And so overjoyed and relieved, neither of them found sleep for too long, opting to doze instead and talk through the entire night. All the while, Dimitri's hands didn't stray far from Rose's abdomen and her hands didn't let go of him. They reveled in their closeness and relief that Rose had finally told him what had been eating her up for the past few weeks. And the two - no, _three _\- of them had their first stress-free, unburdened night in a long while, because Rose had finally faced the music and confessed to Dimitri that _he+she had made three_.

**I'd like to thank Roza-Dimka-Reader, without whose encouragement I'd probably not have published this. And yeah, also thank you for editing too! :p**

**To everyone else, thank you for reading my latest offering.  
Don't forget to let me know what you think!  
Cheers!**


	2. Telling the World

**I'll begin by thanking you all for the kind words and reviews for the first chapter. Y'all rock!  
Also, once again, a hundred thanks to Roza-Dimka-Reader, who in spite of her hectic schedule, is taking time to beta this story for me…and basically making it more palatable, so thank you so so much!  
And now, without further ado, I present to you Part 2 of You and Me make 3. Enjoy!  
**********************************************************************

"Let me get this straight", Christian said slowly. "You're pregnant?"

"Yep", Rose replied, popping the 'p'.

"With Belikov's kid", Christian said, fixing his eyes on Rose's lower abdomen.

"Yes", Dimitri confirmed with a grin.

"How?", Christian asked, perplexed.

"Well, you see", Rose began in a mock-sage voice. "Sometimes when a male and a female love each other, they like spending time together. After a certain…say courtship period, what they do is that they start spending time in bed and having se-"

"Rose, be serious!", Lissa chided, recovering enough to speak for the first time since her best friend had dropped this bombshell on her. Rose sobered up and turned to face her best friend instantly.

Today was a rare afternoon-off that Lissa had been enjoying just spending some time with Christian, when Rose and Dimitri had made their appearance at her quarters. When they'd revealed that they had come from a doctor's appointment, Lissa had insisted to know why….which is when Rose had delivered her news, causing both Lissa and Christian to collapse onto a chaise-lounge in their living room, shocked and unable to comprehend what Rose was saying.

"In that case, I don't really know", Rose sighed, plopping down on a sofa and gesturing her boyfriend to take the seat next to her.

"Both of you are dhampirs", Christian persisted. "Having a kid together is biologically impossible."

"Thank you for pointing that out, Captain Obvious", Rose quipped with an eye-roll. "My doctor's perplexed too, but this kid is 100% ours"

"Don't take this the wrong way Rose", Christian continued, holding his hands palms-up towards her. "But aren't you the least bit skeptic, Dimitri?"

"I had a DNA test done, just in case he didn't believe me. But he accepted it, without any proof", Rose replied, thinking back to how she had hidden the news from Dimitri, having had been so sure that he wouldn't believe her.

"Not to mention, Yeva had foretold it", Dimitri said, reaching for Rose's hand and squeezing it comfortingly. Hearing his pronouncement, both Christian and Lissa relaxed. They'd met Yeva and seen too many of her prophecies reach fruition to doubt the old woman's words.

Yes, even Lissa had doubted. She loved Rose to bits, but a dhampir-dhampir baby….seemed preposterous. Then again, Rose was all for breaking the ways of biology, what with being shadow-kissed, and resurrecting strigoi and the like.

"So how far along are you?", Lissa asked Rose, leaning forwards in her chair.

"12 weeks, give or take a couple of days at this point", Rose replied. "And before you ask, I'm going to a really good Ob/Gyn at the clinic, and Dimitri has already grilled him to an inch of his life regarding my pregnancy, so don't you start!"

Lissa pouted a bit at Rose's warning, but otherwise was unperturbed. "But I'm going with you on your next appointment, and that's final."

"Whatever makes you happy, Your Highness", Rose teased with twinkling eyes.

"And I'll be pulling you off-duty, too", Lissa said, but Rose shook her head vehemently. "You're not doing that, Liss. The doctor said it's okay if I continue duty 'til the 8th month or so. No buts! The doctor said regular physical exercise is good for both me and the baby, so there!", Rose concluded with a glare, when Lissa opened her mouth to interject.

"Fine", Lissa conceded. "But you're not going on any more raids."

"Of course not!", Rose scoffed. There was no way she'd put her baby in danger…and raids were the very epitome of danger. "Trust me, Dimitri will suffer a heart attack or probably throttle me if I do", she continued drily.

"There's no use unnecessarily putting yourself or the baby at harm, Roza", Dimitri defended himself. "And I could never strangle you, no matter how much you infuriate me or get on my nerves, or haven't you learned that by now?"

Rose smirked, thinking of the many times she had taken him to the edge of his tolerance, and how each time they had ended up the same way….getting lost in each other…in various Not PG-rated ways.

Christian coughed, made uncomfortable by the way his guardian and (don't tell Rose he said this) one of his best friends were making googly-eyes at one another. "Sorry to be the party-pooper here, but how are you planning to convince the rest of our world that you two conceived a baby together?"

"It's enough if our loved ones know, and believe the truth. Besides, everyone knows how hard we've fought to be together, so how can they even think that the baby is someone else's?", Dimitri sighed, having pondered on this question for some time.

"And if they don't believe…" Rose supplied. "Well, people will just have to deal."

"Have you thought of any names yet?" Lissa asked and then brightened immediately when hit by a very brilliant idea.

"No, it's too early", Rose replied, studying her best friend's glowing face. "Why are you suddenly so happy, Liss?"

"Am I not your best friend and family, Rose?", Lissa unleashed puppy-dog eyes at her bestie. When Rose nodded cautiously, she continued. "You know that I love you and will do anything for you, right?"

"What are you getting at?", Rose replied warily, already knowing she'd succumb to whatever Lissa would ask of her. Damn puppy-dog eyes. And damn pregnancy hormones that made her a sucker for puppy-dog eyes.

"Your baby shower!", Lissa grinned triumphantly. "Say you'll let me host it!"

"Fine", Rose acceded, already bracing herself for the extravagant affair. Lissa squealed in delight and hugged her tightly, promising to make it an event Rose would never be able to forget. The others could only laugh at her enthusiasm, while Rose patted her back awkwardly, saying she had no doubt Lissa would do just that.

The foursome spent another two hours chatting (while Lissa mentally started planning Rose's baby-shower), after which Rose and Dimitri took their leave to go and announce their news to their family and other friends.

Everyone had the typical 'Are you sure' or 'You must be joking' reaction, and most of the men did ask Dimitri if he was sure the child was his or whether he believed Rose, but when he reassured them that he absolutely believed her and was with her, they were reassured.  
Abe was a glaring example. When faced with the reality that his daughter was not only sleeping with _that boy_**, **but was carrying his child, he first refused to believe it…I mean what father would willingly like to hear the results of his daughter's sexual exploits? But when Rose had marginally calmed him down (I mean, really? What did Abe think Rose and Dimitri were sharing an apartment for? Sleepovers and splitting bills?), Abe made sure Dimitri knew exactly how he expected Rose to be treated if he valued his easily end-able life.

Janine on the other hand, remained stunned for a full five minutes at the news, and after ensuring that Rose wasn't pranking her, she unleashed an abundance of helpful advice for Rose and even shed a few tears while reminiscing about her own pregnancy. She told Rose and Dimitri to forget any thoughts of sleeping if their baby turned out anything like her own daughter. Oh, and to stock food, always, in order to evade hunger-tantrums at all hours of the day. Raising baby Rose had taught her that…

The St. Vlad's guardians set up a bet about the gender of the baby and whom it would emulate more-fiery Rose or preternaturally-calm Dimitri-and had quite a few good laughs when Alberta shared anecdotes about Rose's childhood, much to Rose's mortification.

The Palm Springs gang took it in stride, and Eddie believed the pregnancy news without questioning because he knew Rose well enough to know that she'd never cheat on Dimitri. Jill believed because she had faith in miracles and she loved fairytales. She was happy that Rose and Dimitri were getting their happy ending.  
Adrian laughed hysterically and wished Dimitri best of luck dealing with a hormonal Rose, and soon a mini-version of her. Sydney, on the other hand, was a vat of surprise.

"It's not the first case of dhampir-dhampir fertility that's been recorded, you know", she informed them matter-of-factly. "In fact, there's been quite a few cases of such pregnancies over the centuries. Alchemists have records of that, last time I checked."

After dropping the info, Sydney had helpfully suggested food that she knew were medically proven healthy for pregnant women and delivered a list of dos and don'ts that had Dimitri scribbling furiously in a notepad. Rose could only watch with glazed eyes as Dimitri and Sydney conducted a highly technical discussion about her pregnancy for the better part of half-an-hour. It was also the first time she learned that Dimitri had been reading up on Pregnancy guides in his free-time on his smartphone and computer over the last 3 weeks.

The call to Baia was picked up by Yeva, who immediately replied with a snarky 'I told you so' in perfect English that had Rose instinctively pick a fight with her. Vika had squealed in delight when she heard, happy to become an aunt again and Olena had burst into happy tears, and promised to throw a communal dinner in honor of having her little boy become a father. The Baians were easy to convince because in those regions, they still believed in superstitions and miracles.

Olena also shared tidbits about Dimitri's childhood, and what a mischievous, clever boy he was and before hanging up, she promised to send some knitted goods and food for the couple. When Rose asked her to come to Court and stay with her for the last month of her pregnancy, Olena became so choked up, she almost fainted with happiness.

Emil, whom Rose knew Dimitri was quite close to, was the last call of the day and after sharing the pregnancy news, which Emil accepted at face value because Dimitri had announced it so surely, the two men caught up while Rose prepared dinner. Prepared, not cooked, mind you, because Dimitri still didn't trust her in the kitchen alone, and for good reason…

After the horde of calls - all of which Rose had insisted on attending despite Dimitri's protestations that she should get some rest - the duo sat through dinner, mulling over the day. The danger-period of the pregnancy - the first trimester - was over, and they had shared their news with all their loved ones, who gave their full support and heartfelt congratulations.

By now, enough time had passed that Dimitri didn't treat Rose as if she were made of glass - a shouting match two weeks ago might have helped there - but he did his best to ensure she ate more fresh vegetables and milk and less junk food. Rose wasn't any more temperamental than usual, but Dimitri had her doing some meditative exercises to control her temper…just in case she _did _get hormonal. Or you know, burst into tears or screamed at him. Or tried ending his life prematurely…

They worked as a team, happy and in love, as they did the dishes that night and chitchatted over the events of the day, and a carefree Dimitri even twirled Rose around when a favorite Beatles track of his played on the radio.

Before getting into bed, Rose changed into one of Dimitri's tees while Dimitri made sure the door to the bathroom was ajar and a bottle of water was placed on Rose's bed stand and another one on the bathroom sink; all in preparation for her morning sickness. Afterwards he climbed into bed and caressed her little baby bump, which had only become noticeable just but a few days ago, while crooning softly in Rose's ear and lulling her to sleep.

Life was good, Dimitri thought as he succumbed to sleep, still wrapped protectively around his Roza and their unborn child. And he prayed that it'd only get better.

As for dealing with the rest of their world (whom Dimitri considered skeptics, whereas Rose branded them nosy assholes), they'd take it one day at a time….together, as always…

**Thank you for reading!  
Don't forget to leave a review! Or even suggestions, if you want to.  
Cheers!  
PS-I suck at naming things, so feel free to suggest a chapter name for this if you wanna!**


	3. The Routine

It was around the sixth month of her pregnancy when Rose began to show, like really show her pregnancy. She waddled from place to place, her baby bump on full display, doing her duties-much restricted now, thanks to Lissa's interventions.

They'd made the announcement to their guardian colleagues last month, and Lissa to some of her friends, and from there, the word had spread like wildfire throughout Court and beyond...

At first people had been skeptic whether the baby was really Dimitri's, which was kind of understandable because dhampir-dhampir fertility was almost unheard of, and they spread hurtful and vicious rumors about Rose-calling her various derogatory names-which when they reached her ears, managed to move her to tears, on more than one occasion. Dimitri did his best to console her and soothe her, telling her that others' opinions didn't matter, that he loved her to bits and their loved ones were beyond ecstatic, and that should be enough.

Seeing Dimitri and Lissa stand by and support Rose full-heartedly convinced most people about the pregnancy eventually, but when Rose's doctor-a very respected Moroi-verified the news, and random documents of previous dhampir-dhampir pregnancies began to circulate around Court (Christian might or might not have something to do with that, and Sydney might or might not have hacked the Moroi history database for the info), people began to see the truth…and accept it. Their attitude towards Rose changed again, and the trash-talking stopped.

After that, as Rose went about her day, some people always approached her to ask questions about her pregnancy (how far along was she? Was she suffering from morning sickness? Was she eating and sleeping properly?...) and to wish her a good day. Some even volunteered to help carry her groceries or to drive her to her destinations (and you'd be an idiot if you believe Rose didn't take full advantage of that).

Rose's daily routine nowadays consisted of waking up and dashing to the washroom almost every dawn to vomit. Dimitri would be one mere step behind, holding her while she puked, soothing her with caresses while she cursed his existence and gurgled and drank water, and carrying her back to bed when she fell asleep against him. When she'd wake up finally, he'd be prepared with her breakfast, always consisting of at least 2 chocolate cookies (her latest-and thankfully most normal-craving) but no coffee. After that, they'd walk to the guardian HQ together, almost always hand in hand, and check in.

Hans took it easy on her, adopting an almost mild fatherly voice when addressing her, and he always made sure she had a seat. Lissa was the same, insisting that Rose sit down while she guarded Lissa, and supplying her with water and food throughout the day.

Olena would call to check in at least once during the day, and so would Abe, though that was mostly to make sure that people were behaving themselves well and that Dimitri was taking 'proper' care of her.

When Rose returned home for dinner, she would rant about her day to Dimitri while he would massage her shoulders or her feet and then he'd take his turn lying on her lap and baby talking to their unborn child. These moments would more often than not bring Rose to tears, whose emotions were now on overdrive, courtesy of her pregnancy hormones and Dimitri would go into a panic trying to make her stop crying. She just couldn't help herself, there was something so poignant about watching the love of her life stare with wonder and devotion at her tummy, murmuring sweet words of love and hope for their baby while holding her hands in a tight grip, almost as if to assure himself that this was reality, not a dream. Sometimes, she needed the reassurance too…

For so long Dimitri had wanted a child, someone to love and take care of, but he'd thought he'd never get that blessing, as he was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with another dhampir. When Yeva had foretold Roza's pregnancy, he'd been too afraid to hope, but that didn't stop him from dreaming of chocolate-eyed brown haired babies snuggling into his chest as they drifted off to dreamland, or watching a toddler-_his own progeny_-run happily while he and his Roza watched.

When Rose had told him that she was expecting, he had been over the moon. He had actually cried after watching the first ultrasound image of their baby. Roza had cried too, and they had held each other close as they thanked any and every deity they could think up.

Dimitri learned to cherish each and every facet of her pregnancy, from her gradually swelling belly to her pregnancy hormones, which sometimes reduced her to tears at the sight of a homeless puppy or a bad rom-com. He tolerated her hormone-fueled rants well enough, and indulged her cravings, which had included everything from fresh-made cottage cheese to half-baked pizza dough to having gourd juice with vanilla icecream. He had even once driven to a patisserie at 5am because she wanted to have some fresh-baked apple pie (with aforementioned cottage-cheese). He stood by her, but he also gave her breathing room, and he was (don't tell Roza) always, _always, _in contact with someone who was near her when she was on guard duty…just in case.

As for Rose, the months she'd been pregnant taught her loads. She began to walk more cautiously, and train with abdomen protection bands; not to mention she had started to make a Herculian attempt to control her potty mouth, not wanting her child to develop the vocabulary of a sailor, even before birth.

Things she had learned to give up included coffee (though Dimitri made sure she did get her daily allotment of hot chocolate instead; with chocolate cookies, of course) and her spontaneous recklessness. She no longer pulled pranks on people (at least not pranks that required too much or too fast movements on her part) and she learned to accept help, when it was offered.

She also learned that she'd become something of a celebrity/freakshow at Court (where sometimes people ran up to her to take pictures of/with her or offer her little gifts, like chocolates or flowers) and that mass-scale betting was going on, not only at Court, but at St. Vlad's, about the gender of her baby. (No comment on whether she made a bet or not, but she made sure Lissa yelled for Christian for an entire hour after they'd found out he'd betted).

She also learned to appreciate Dimitri more, because of the little ways he patiently tolerated her mood swings and the many ways he showed that he loved her (and their baby), from outright professing his love for her everyday, to reading up tons of pregnancy books because he knew she hated reading. He supported her, even when the morning sickness made her so angry that she told him she'd like to castrate him with a blunt knife; or when he surprised her with a bunch of daisies and she burst into tears, getting snot all over his favorite duster. He held her when she cried and cheered her up when she moped, and loved her when she screamed at him. If that wasn't love, she didn't know what was.

Whenever she had any insecurities about…well, gaining weight and becoming fat and not having her femme fatale body anymore, he always reassured her that he'd love her even if she started to resemble a sumo wrestler (there'd just be more of her to love), and that she shouldn't feel bad, because she was not gaining weight, she was growing a baby-their baby-inside her.  
His eyes never drifted away from her, no matter what setting they were in or how many beautiful women they were surrounded by-you bet your ass she observed him, but his eyes never left hers, or his hands their hold on her. He always looked at her like she was the very air that helped him breathe and bragged proudly about her swelling belly and her pregnancy-without-complications to anyone who'd listen.

So, all in all things were going well, and the happy couple was looking forward to their future, from feeling the baby's first kicks, to finally holding it in their hands, to first words and baby steps and birthdays and parties.  
Dimitri had let Rose know in no uncertain term that she wasn't allowed to have a baby girl, because he couldn't wrap his head around sending a baby version of him and Rose off to the academy where she'd be surrounded by boys all the time and sometime in the future, fall in love with one.  
Rose had laughed at his apprehension over a baby girl-who Dimitri insisted would definitely be stunningly beautiful-and her dating life-which, if Dimitri could help, wouldn't take place for a long, long time. She was also a bit worried about having a baby girl, especially if said child inherited her personality, sure that they would fight often and that each time it would be the clash of the titans. (Dimitri had been duly forewarned to take Rose's side, always, if he wanted to sleep in her bed).

So, things were going great and Rose and Dimitri were adjusting to her pregnancy with time.

This night, they had gone to Lissa's for dinner and had laughed and talked for hours with two of their closest friends. At 10pm Dimitri began to check his watch after every 3 minute interval and it took Christian 15 minutes to deduce that Dimitri wanted Rose home soon for her early bedtime, so he casually suggested that they turn in for the night, packing some leftovers for Rose and handing them over to Dimitri, who was grateful that he hadn't incurred Rose's unpredictable wrath by making the suggestion himself and looking smothering and controlling.

When they had returned home, Dimitri went off to refrigerate the food and fetch Rose a glass of water, after telling her to go to the den and put her feet up. He whistled as he went, already thinking about tucking Rose in bed and going to sleep with his hands around her warm body. He had been in the kitchen just half a minute when Rose let out a scream. Dimitri didn't think, he immediately reacted. Praying that nothing was amiss, he raced towards the living room. When a second scream followed, Dimitri's blood turned to ice…his mind turned over a thousand situations straight out of his nightmare as he dashed through the hallway, almost breaking down the wall as he made the final turn into the den…..and froze.  
Rose turned to him with wide, shocked eyes, her mouth opened in an O and her hands clutching her abdomen. When Dimitri saw what had happened, the glass he had been clutching in his hand dropped from hand and shattered to a million pieces on the floor…

**I know, I know, I'm a horrible person for stopping here, but before you come after me with pitchforks and stones, let me tell you it's not what you think…most probably :p I'll have the follow-up written and uploaded by this weekend!  
But don't forget to share what you think, or any suggestions you have for me, via reviews, if you want. Also thank you Twilight407501 for naming the last chapter.  
Don't forget to drop suggestions for this chapter's name!  
Also, thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews and support and I'm sorry for the sub-par writing on this chapter because my wonderful beta is taking a well-deserved vacation, and I kinda suck at editing.  
(Also, sorry for the mini-rant)  
Thank you for reading!  
Cheers!**


	4. Flutters

Previously

…_.Rose let out a scream. Dimitri didn't think, he immediately reacted. Praying that nothing was amiss, he raced towards the living room. When a second scream followed, Dimitri's blood turned to ice…_

_When Dimitri saw what had happened, the glass he had been clutching in his hand dropped from hand and shattered to a million pieces on the floor…_

Now

"He kicked me" was what Rose had uttered; the words that made Dimitri lose his grip on the water-glass and cause it to shatter against the wooden floor.

For a second, both Rose and Dimitri stood rooted to where they were, both their eyes fixed on the broken glass bits, and then Rose screamed again.

Dimitri recovered then and swiftly rushed to her side, brushing her shoulder comfortingly. "Roza, you scared the life out of me", Dimitri chastised half-heartedly. "For a second I thought…"

Dimitri trailed off, but Rose got the gist. Unfortunately, she was still adjusting to being used as a football by her baby to feel sorry for him.

"Excuse me, but there's a growing human being inside of me, one who's making a habit of kicking me", she bit out sarcastically, rubbing her tummy lightly, trying to soothe the weird sensation in her stomach.

"Of course, Roza. I'm sorry", Dimitri placated her. "Do you want to sit? Would you like some water?"

"Comrade, shut up", she snapped at him, feeling the weird sensation again, but this time limiting her reaction to a little yelp instead of the standard scream. Suddenly, the realization hit her. "Holy mother-trucker", she corrected herself hastily, remembering her mission to stop cursing. "I'm growing a human being inside of me"

"No, for real", she continued enthusiastically, turning to Dimitri. "Dimitri, I'm going to be a mom"

"Umm, isn't that what being pregnant entails?", Dimitri asked tentatively, instead of replying with a 'Duh' or 'I know', both of which-most likely-would have triggered her one of her now temperamental mood swings. The last time Dimitri had 'irritated' her, he'd ended up with a couple of bruised ribs (courtesy of her punching) and a bawling Rose, who was terribly sorry she'd done that to him. It had taken him four whole hours (and a tub of butterscotch ice-cream) to soothe her to sleep, and his frazzled nerves weren't really keen on a repeat of that event.

"Yes, I mean…you know, so far I was theoretically pregnant, but this cements the deal. Wow!", Rose continued, her words breaking his reverie. "Holy freaking candy mountain, I'm gonna be your baby mamma", she ended her tirade excitedly, then started laughing hysterically, making even Dimitri chuckle along.

"Oh", she stopped suddenly, her hands fluttering over her stomach again.

"What is it? Is he kicking again?", Dimitri asked quickly, eyeing her stomach.

"Yeah", she choked out a laugh, patting her tummy. Suddenly remembering that she wasn't the only eager parent in the room, she grabbed one of Dimitri's hands and placed it on her lower abdomen. "Here, feel this", she grinned, fixing her eyes on his face to catch his reaction.

Dimitri didn't disappoint. His hand had not been on her skin three seconds before the baby decided to showcase its fancy footwork again. The moment Dimitri felt her taut stomach flutter under his arms, his eyes flashed to Rose, who replied his unasked question with an enthusiastic nod. Instantly his face lit up with a smile, his eyes crinkling with genuine happiness, and his handsome features stunned Rose into speechlessness for a second.

"My god, Rose! He's kicking.", Dimitri gasped excitedly, lifting his joy-filled eyes to meet hers. "Our baby boy is really kicking. I bet he's gonna be one hell of a guardian when he grows up!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves", Rose patted his arm. "For all we know, he could be a she"

"It could be, but I don't think so", Dimitri replied with a smile.

"That's only because you're afraid of losing your little girl to another boy someday", Rose shot back, poking her tongue out at her. Dimitri grimaced slightly, making Rose chuckle again. Immediately, he leaned down and paced a soft kiss against her lips.

"Thank you, milaya. Thank you so, so very much!", he replied, gently gathering her into his arms and pressing kisses against her forehead.

Rose returned his hug wholeheartedly, nestling into his embrace and sniffing the smell of his aftershave-which, even with her discerning olfactory senses now, was one of her most favorite smells. He buried his head into her hair, still murmuring thank yous, and for a second, Rose swore she felt his tears against her skin. It made her only pull him closer and hold him tighter.

Dimitri could have stayed in that position for a lifetime, but Rose started squirming in his arms after a couple of minutes.

"Comrade, not to be a buzzkill or anything, but I really gotta go pee", she said sheepishly, stepping out of his arms.

"Can I feel it one more time?", Dimitri asked, eyeing her tummy again.

"I think it has stopped. For now", Rose explained, watching Dimitri's face fall slightly. "But if you want-"

"It's okay, Rose. We have a lot of time ahead to do this. You go do your thing now, and I'll clean up the mess I made", he said, pointing towards the glass shards on the floor. "Walk carefully"

"I should inform Lissa. She'll be pissed if I don't tell her", Rose sighed.

"But if you do, she'll show up here in two minutes flat and sit holding your stomach till the baby kicks again", Dimitri completed wryly. "Which could take some time"

"And I'm really tired", Rose quipped, yawning for effect.

"Go sleep. We'll inform Lissa the next time it happens", Dimitri chuckled again. "This'll be our little secret"

"Guardian secrets?", Rose teased, holding up her pinky towards him.

"Guardian secrets", Dimitri affirmed fondly, twisting his pinky around hers and pulling her closer for another kiss.

**After the couple of threats I've received on my life already, I decided it was in my best interest to update ASAP, so here you go, lovelies!  
This is a really short chapter, in comparison to the others, but the next one's gonna be pretty long (I have a few things planned), I promise. If you liked this, don't forget to leave a review.  
Also, thanks to for naming the last chapter, and if anyone wanna name this one, feel free to drop a suggestion.  
Cheers!**


	5. Family Gatherings

**I'm sorry for my prolonged absence, lovelies, but I'm back now, and without further ado, here's the latest installment of the story. Enjoy!  
PS-If my writing or grammar is rusty, I apologize in advance. Sorry.**

"..and he stood up and grabbed a knife", Vika gestured with her hands, describing her brother's reaction when she'd 'innocently' suggested the probability of his soon-to-be-born could-be daughter getting intimate with a could-be boyfriend in future. "I swear to you I've never seen Dimka look so murderous"

Rose laughed right along with others, a hand resting comfortingly over her swollen tummy. This was her long-anticipated baby shower and Lissa (after a lot of persuasion and maybe some waterworks) had agreed with Rose's request and kept the entire affair low-key. But obviously, being the queen and the best best friend ever, she had Dimitri's entire family flown in for the shower (sans Yeva, who declared she was too old for air-travel and would rather stay back and terrorize the Baians with mysterious prophecies; and also except Paul and his sister, who were both in the Academy for the school year).

Rose watched happily, munching on butter-soft cupcakes, as her female friends and her family….err, Dimitri's family aka the Belikova contingency shared anecdotes about her and Dimitri's childhood, and their reactions to the pregnancy announcement.

At eight and a half months, she resembled a balloon more than a human and she was always tired, grumpy or in desperate need to pee. Dimitri did the best he could, rubbing her feet, shoulders and back whenever she wanted and sacrificing his sleep to take care of him, but Rose had a feeling he was just counting down the days (and hours) till she'd pop out the kid and he could get a good night's rest. He'd never admit it, but she knew, she could see it in the way his eyes flicked towards the calendar first thing each morning, and how he pinched his nose and muttered in an undertone when she was being especially 'difficult'. She was getting tired too, of the burning sensation around her upper abdomen, of fidgeting so much and of the baby's kicking. And would you believe it, she couldn't see her own two feet anymore!

Olena, as expected, was absolutely indispensible, with her help and advice and mental support and the hot water-bags she kept magically providing to Rose, that always managed to put her to sleep. The Belikovas had flown in a couple of days ago, and the first thing out of Vika's mouth had been 'Wow, look at that belly on you', which-unsurprisingly-had made Rose start crying and declaring that she'd become fat like a cow, and she wasn't beautiful anymore, and that Dimitri would leave her for someone more beautiful.  
This of course had earned Vika twin basilisk glares from both her mother and brother, who had then shushed her protests about how she meant it in a good way, and worked together to soothe Rose. Oh, and had I mentioned this all took place in the runway strip?

Anyway, since then, Vika had become wary of Rose's unpredictable hormones and had thought and rethought everything she'd said to Rose 10 times before uttering it, in fear of giving offence. (Christian understood her predicament well; after all he had been banned from his own breakfast table for around three weeks the last month after he'd make one tiny comment about how much Rose had been peeing recently).

And that brings us back to last night, when the Belikov clan (and Rose) had been having dinner together with Liss, Christian and the rest of the gang, most of who had been come over early, in order to attend the baby-shower and meet the miracle child when it took birth. Things had been going on well, and everyone had been happy, including Rose, who was happily filling her stomach with Olena's dinner offerings. Not to mention Vika and Christian, who were both happy Adrian was getting the stink-eye from Rose, Olena, Lissa and even Sydney.

In his defense, his intentions were legit. Rose had been having trouble getting off the couch on her own, and Dimitri was across the room, talking with Eddie and Jill, so being the wonderful person that he was, Adrian offered his hand to Rose. What he hadn't expected was for her to have such a strong grip, or to weigh that mu-let me rephrase-or to have such a strong centre of gravity, which kinda resulted in him falling on the couch beside her with a yelp and asking her whether she had metal fillings recently. The room had dropped silent, as Rose's lower lip jutted out and started trembling, and only Christian's arrival, bearing some of his famous 'meatloaf', had prevented a crisis-level melt-down.

So, there they were having dinner together, and sharing stories, and ribbing one another, when the question of whether Rose and Dimitri would be having a boy or girl had arisen. Lissa didn't want to discuss it then, because she had a game prepared for the wedding shower, but the others were undeterred. From Karo saying that Paul had basically demanded that uncle Dimka's baby be a boy, because there were far too many females in the house, to Jill hoping it was a girl, so she could be cool Aunt Jill, who'd shower the kiddie with Barbie houses and princess dresses and tiaras, everyone had an opinion. When asked their opinion, Rose declined to comment, with her version of a Mona Lisa smile, claiming she already knew (call or spidey-senses, or maternal-instincts, but she believed she knew what gender her baby was).

Dimitri also didn't want to comment, but Rose laughingly outed him as wanting a baby boy, because he would go prematurely grey worrying about a baby daughter, who'd grow up far too fast for his liking.

Vika, hit with a diabolical plan, immediately jumped on, speculating that…suppose Dimitri had a daughter, and that then, she became a teenager. Owing to her parents' good looks (well more Roza's good looks, because Dimka was more rugged than cute, and a girl didn't need that face), the kid would obviously end up with good genes and knockout looks.  
And she'd obviously have boys running around her like bees swarming over honey. So, suppose, she falls for some cutie some day, just about 13-14 years from here on, and she goes out to date the boy. What if she falls in love with the alleged boy, and who knows, even gets 'intimate' with him, what did Dimitri suppose he'd do then?

By this time, almost the entire table had stopped eating to listen to Vika's mischievous speculations, and had begun observing Dimitri. At first he'd listened non-plussed, cutting his chicken and chewing it, but slowly, he stopped eating and his face became pale. Then he became agitated. By the end of Vika's suppositions, she'd become still. Deathly still. Eyes wide, lips pursed, imagining a not-so-distant future, rife with the possibility his sister had painted out. No! His mind rebelled. Over his head body!

Only when Rose wound one hand around his and had pulled it down did he realize that he had stood up, wearing a murderous look on his face, and brandishing his knife towards the table's other-slightly scared-occupants. As soon as he was seated again, he groaned and demanded that Rose not have a daughter, for the sake of his sanity. Immediately, the tension was dispelled, and everyone had started laughing, going back to their delicious home-cooked food, and more innocuous conversations.

(Parenthetically, it should be mentioned that Dimitri never truly recovered from that conversation and spent had spent half the night pacing their room before Rose had made him stop by throwing a pillow at his head).

And that incident was what Vika had decided to share at the baby shower, which had most of their companions laughing uproariously. After Vika ended, with a toast of her sparkling cider towards Rose, hoping for her older brother's sake that the family was blessed with a baby boy, Mia took her turn and recounted how one fine night she had gone to the grocery store on Court to find some of her favorite cold-drink, and had bumped into a hassled-looking Dimitri who was staring very confusedly at his phone, in front of the check-out counter. Of course, she had gone up to greet him, and asked him what was happening, to which he replied that Rose had sent him on a midnight—ice-cream-run for some maple-and-walnut flavored icy goodness. And right before he had made it to the counter to check out his purchases, she had just called him and asked him to buy some jalapeno peppers too, because she wanted to have them, stuffed with ice-cream and cookie dough.

As expected, that sent the room into a volley of ewws and utterances of 'gross', which only stopped when the Sonya Belikova defended her sister-in-law-in-every-way-except-on-paper by revealing that Roza's pregnancy craving wasn't really that bad, because during her own pregnancy, she had once had a craving for having pickled fish with raspberry jam, and that for the better part of two months.

And so the story telling went on and on, along with some fun-themed games, for about half an hour more till Rose couldn't stop fidgeting. When Olena-who had noticed her uncomfortable wiggling-asked what was wrong, Rose sheepishly admitted that she needed to pee. So, helped by Vika and Mia, both of whom were brash enough that Rose didn't suffer from any embarrassment at the thought of them hearing her peeing, Rose made her way over to the washroom. But once there, Rose elected to fix her hair and text Dimitri before peeing. After Dimitri didn't text back, even after 5 whole minutes, Rose theorized that he must be comatose with sleep, what after his late night pacing last night, and his general lack of sleeping in the last few months.

Shaking her head, she rejoined her two friends, and they walked slowly back to the hallroom, talking together about the shower, the decorations and the food. As they entered the room, Jill's eyes lit up with a smile, and she asked a question that somehow everyone had forgotten to ask Rose in the last eight and a half months. "Hey Rose", she said, brushing some cookie crumbs off her skirt. "Have you decided on what to call the baby when he or she is born?"

Rose smiled slowly, and replied that she had a few names on her mind, but she needed to confirm with Dimitri first. Immediately, Lissa piped up, hoping for everyone's sake that they didn't name the kid Vladimir or Alexandra, because she had had enough of being compared to the two iconic Moroi, and she wouldn't wish it on someone else. Rose winked and promised to keep that in mind, before sitting down beside her mother in law and announcing that she was hungry and demanded to be fed.

Over a sumptuous dinner, everyone bantered and Rose took this opportunity to hold a private conversation with Olena. When she relayed the name she hoped to give the kid if it was a boy, Olena's eyes filled with tears. When Rose asked if Olena liked the name, the older woman could only nod with tear-stained eyes before clasping Rose's hand and squeezing it with approval.

Later that night, when they were dropped home Rose bid goodnight to the others and slowly waddled over to their room, where a freshly showered Dimitri was sitting on the bed, reading one of his favorite westerns. As soon as he saw her, he dropped the book and came over to greet her with a kiss and smile. "Had a good day?", he asked her, between kisses.

"Mmhmm", Rose exhaled happily, settling into his embrace. "You?"

"I spent most of the day sleeping", he replied, semi-guiltily.

"You deserved it", she declared, walking towards the bed. "So I was wondering…", she paused, motioning for him to settle down beside him. "What do you want to name the kid?"

"I'm guessing you have something special on your mind?", Dimitri teased as he leaned against the headboard beside her. "But just so you know, we're not calling the baby Waldo or Bozo"

"Not even if I say pretty please?", Rose shot back, fluttering her eyes comically.

"No", he answered deadpan, before succumbing to a grin. "So, what did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking that if it's a boy", she paused, taking his hand in hers. "What do you think of Mason-Ivan?"

Dimitri remained silent and motionless for two whole minutes, and Rose started to panic. "I don't want to dishonor either of their memories, but they both were really important, and our first great losses, so I thought this would be a second chance, to do right by them and us. Like a happy ending, and your mom lik-"

Dimitri interrupted her tirade by pulling her into a crushing hug. "Thank you, Roza", he murmured into her hair, his voice clogged with emotions. "I..I love it. It's beautiful. And if it's a girl?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd have some input, so that when she becomes a teenager and hates her name, I can blame you with a clear conscience", she replied cheekily.

"Glad to know you have my back", he returned sarcastically, elbowing her jokingly.

"Hey, if she inherits the Hathaway attitude, I'd do anything I can to stay on her good side", Rose shot back, making Dimitri laugh and declare 'don't' I know it'.

"Okay", he replied more seriously. "I like the name Anya Maria. What do you think?"

"Anya Maria", Rose tried out the words. "I like it. It sounds wonderful!"

"So, Mason-Ivan and Anya Maria?", Dimitri asked, brushing some hair off her forehead.

"Definitely", she piped up, beaming at him. "And I don't mean to be a party-pooper or anything, but I seriously need to pee again. Help me up?"

Dimitri did just that, and he watched as she waddled over to their washroom to change. "Mason-Ivan Belikov", he pronounced, looking out of the window into the starry sky. "Hear that, Ivan? My son's gonna be named after you. And if he ends up becoming half the considerate, loving person that you were, I'll consider myself to have won at parenting". He smiled, shaking his head at his slightly-sappy behavior and walked to the kitchen to get a hot-water bag for his Roza.

**So what did you guys think of the chapter? And the names? Also, did anyone get the reference of Bozo? Hit me with your thoughts, critique and suggestions in the reviews (and you just might be entitled to a slice of Christian's cholesterol-raising meatloaf). Also, as usual, you're more than welcome to drop a suggestion for the chapter's name, so if that seems like something you wanna do, review!  
Cheers! **


	6. Precious

1 week and 6 days before she was due to give birth, Rose woke to tremendous abdominal pain. Groaning, Rose changed her sleeping position, thinking that her Braxton-Hicks were getting worse, and hoping to alleviate it. It wasn't-after shuffling uncomfortably for about 15 minutes-till she returned to her original position that Rose felt the cold, wet patch on her bedsheet. Her eyes shot open as she realized what had happened…

Dimitri had woken up early that morning, and after greeting his mother, who-even here-insisted on busying herself in the kitchen from the crack of dawn, he had returned to his room, and pressed a kiss against Rose's forehead before brushing his hand across her swollen abdomen.  
Then, he'd gone for a short run, following which he decided to enjoy a hot shower, seeing that Rose hadn't still woken up yet. When he returned from their bathroom, toweling his hair, he found Rose lying awake, looking at the clock unwaveringly.

Rose tracked his movements across the room owlishly. It wasn't till he was properly dressed for the day that she decided to open her mouth. "Dimitri", she called, one hand fixed over the swell of her belly. "My labor's started"  
Transfixed, he blurted the first thing he thought of. Which was 'No, it didn't'  
"Don't you think I'd be a more reliable authority on the topic than you?", Rose questioned sarcastically.  
"But you're not due for….about 2 more weeks", he squeaked, looking at the calendar. "Are you sure?"  
Rose only nodded, eyeing him carefully, and Dimitri? He did what any self-respecting-almost-thirty-years-old-father-to-be would do. He screamed for his mother.

Olena came rushing in at once, and took charge of the situation. She helped Rose sit up on the bed, and pack an overnight bag, while she instructed Dimitri to draw Roza a bath, cancel his shift, notify the doctor, and make some tea. Dimitri followed her orders to the dot, still being unable to understand what was happening. It wasn't till he had taken Rose in his arms and helped her settle into the bath that he thought to ask why she wasn't freaking out.

"Because your mom is here, and I absolutely trust her", Rose sighed, settling into the water. "And I have a feeling that there'll be a lot of freaking out on my part in a few hours anyway."

"Does it hurt?", he asked warily, reaching for her hand.  
"It's tolerable, for now", she replied truthfully, squeezing his hand, sinking further into the water.

Dimitri sat with her till the water turned cold, and she wanted out. Then he helped her get dressed, and accompanied her to the kitchen table for a light breakfast-her last pre-parenthood meal, joked Rose-and watched her with hawk eyes, looking for even the slightest wince or groan.

Two hours later, Rose was still in a good mood, waddling around the apartment, one hand permanently fixed over her stomach, and on the phone with Liss, begging her to not yet rush over, as there still was time. Dimitri watched her, one eye fixed on the Google search he had going on for early labor predicaments.

5 hours, and Rose couldn't maintain her optimism anymore. She shifted, moving around on the bed, groaning every now and then, her hand gripping his for dear life. _6 minutes 17 seconds apart, 24 seconds long_, Dimitri noted on Rose's phone, where she had started timing the contractions.

7 hours, and Rose couldn't take it anymore. She moaned, demanding to be taken to the hospital. Dimitri soothed her with words, brushing her hair, and holding her in the backseat of the car, while Sonya Belikova drove them over to the hospital. Her contractions spaced just over 4 minutes apart.

During the 8th hour, Rose growled at an attending, who told her that the only thing she was to be allowed to eat from that time forward would be ice pellets. 9 hours, and she was sobbing, asking for an epidural. Her doctor came in then, along with an intern to check on how things were going. Her cervix was deemed to have healthily effaced, and her labor to be progressing healthily. Unfortunately for Rose, her request for an epidural was denied…for now, at least until the doctor checked back in an hour.

An hour later, the doctor checked in as promised. And Rose was deemed to have already entered the active labor stage, so the only advice the doctor could offer her was to stay calm, take deep breaths and to hold on, just for a little longer.

A little longer meant approximately three-and-a-half hours, and for Dimitri, two pillows, a box of crackers and one shoe thrown at his head (along with threats of a sex-ban for life). Olena, meanwhile, did her best to soothe Roza, holding her hand and talking her through the pain.  
Christian had come to check on Rose, heard one blood-curdling scream after a particularly uncomfortable contraction, and decided to wait outside. Vika and Mia sat with him, both having sworn off pregnancy, after seeing Rose-one of the toughest people they personally knew-being reduced to sobs.

Pretty soon, doctors and attendings were rushing in, Dimitri and Olena were both being forced into scrubs, and everyone else forced out. Rose looked sickly, slightly nauseous, and exhausted beyond belief. She whimpered, holding onto Dimitri for dear life, as he settled in the bed beside her, and she hid her face in his chest, taking comfort in the smell of his aftershave.  
As much as Dimitri wished he could take away her pain, he knew that he couldn't. All he could do was to hold on to her tightly, and help her through the process.

While Rose and Dimitri's friends and most of their family paced outside, (Janine having arrived a few minutes ago, and Lissa cancelling her appointments and rushing over the moment she heard of Rose entering active labor, and the rest of the gang being already present), Olena helped Roza through the birthing, yelling encouragements and patting her leg, while the doctor did his thing.

When the baby's head appeared, Olena informed the couple that there was hair on the head, which made Rose laugh, even through her tears. She found a new, defined purpose, a burning need to meet her child, which fueled her through the next contraction, which the doctor assured her was going to be the toughest yet. Two more contractions and an almighty scream later, the baby was born. "Congrats", the doctor smiled, holding up the wriggling baby. "You have a boy"

One moment, Rose was going through the worst pain she had ever felt in her life, the next she was stupefied, staring in awe at the baby. _Her_ baby. _Their_ baby. The baby that she and Dimitri had made, the fruition of their cosmic love…  
Turning to look at Dimitri, she found the same stunned look on his face, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, as he looked reverently at their miracle child. When the doctor moved to a corner, to clean, tag and weigh the baby, Dimitri was torn, He wanted to stay with his Roza, hell he wanted to stay with her for life, but he couldn't bear taking his eyes off the baby, in fear that the baby would disappear and he'd find out it had all been a dream, an illusion. Rose nudging him towards the doctor made his decision easier. With a grateful smile at her, he shuffled after the doctor, watching as the still crying baby was 'processed'. Crying was healthy, the doctor assured him, and it would only take a bit longer.

The next few minutes for Rose passed by in a haze. She dozed between watching Dimitri, hugging a tearful Olena, and feeling more than seeing a nurse tidy her up. She, however, became fully lucid, when a beaming doctor placed her baby boy on her chest, and he….he curled into her, quieting down. She held him carefully, preciously, and using one fingernail, stroked through his downy hair, and across his knuckles. Dimitri's forefinger entered her view, as he too, carefully, stroked the baby's cheek, and when the baby opened his eyes for the first time, her breath caught.

His eyes were chocolate-brown, a shade perhaps lighter than Dimitri's, but his nose was all hers, and she couldn't help but fall in love with him. "He's perfect", Dimitri whispered softly, worshipfully.

"Mason-Ivan Belikov", she tried out the words lovingly, taking a shuddering breath when he sighed into her skin upon hearing her voice. Unknownst to the couple, Olena backed out of the room, to give the concerned party waiting in the room outside the good news.

Dimitri retraced her steps a couple of minutes later, cradling his son to his heart. "Ladies and gentlemen", he began cheerfully, breaking out in the biggest smile anyone had ever seen him in, "I'd like you to meet our son, Mason-Ivan Belikov"

From her hospital bed inside, Rose heard her friends cheer and clap, and fall in love with her son the same way she and Dimitri had, and she couldn't help but smile sleepily as she closed her eyes.  
She opened her eyes to a hand gently caressing her hair, and was surprised to find her mother at her bedside. "He's sleeping", Janine whispered, gesturing towards the furthest corner of the room, where Rose could make out a distinctly Dimitri-shaped-shadow hovering over a cot.

"How long", Rose asked groggily, stifling a yawn. About an hour and a half, Janine confirmed, glancing at her watch.

"Where's everyone?", Rose questioned, looking around the empty room. She would have expected at least Lissa to have been there.  
"I sent them all home", Janine confessed, with a mischievous look in her eyes. "I used my guardian voice"  
Rose burst into shocked laughter, which seemed to have woken the baby, so Janine walked over and brought him back, settling him in Rose's arms. "Thanks, Mom", she replied quietly, overcome with emotion at seeing the tiny fragile baby-her flesh and blood-who seemed to trust and love her (or at least her body heat and voice) implicitly.

"You did good", Janine choked out. "I'm happy for you"  
Mother and daughter sat together in comfortable silence, occasionally cooing over the newest addition to the family, till a disoriented Dimitri woke up and almost suffered a heart attack until Rose assured him Masey was with her. Janine left them then, to spend some family time alone, after kissing Rose's forehead, and going as far as to squeeze Dimitri's shoulder comfortingly.

"Hey, beautiful", Dimitri smiled at her, settling by her side.  
"Hey handsome", Rose returned, leaning up so she could capture his lips in a kiss.  
"You okay?", he asked.  
"Never better", she replied honestly.

"I have a confession to make", he whispered, smiling when she looked at him. "I love Masey, maybe even more than you"  
"Just so you know, I feel the same way", she nudged him affectionately.  
"I can't wait for him to grow up", he returned, tracing Masey's button-nose. Rose hummed in agreement, closing her eyes again. "I have a confession, too", she returned in a whisper. "I want another one…"  
"But not yet", Dimitri completed her thought. "Me too. And I'm sure Mom does too"  
Rose snorted with laughter, remembering the gleam that had entered Olena's eyes when she saw Rose pregnant for the first time. "What if it's a girl?", Rose teased, remembering how Dimitri had all but forbidden her to have a daughter.  
"In that case, I might need to accelerate Masey's hand-to-hand combat training", he replied with a straight face, mockingly tapping his son's fisted hands, making Rose laugh. "We'll tackle it when it comes", he answered more seriously.

"But, for now….this is enough", Rose intoned, clutching her two men a little closer.  
Dimitri nodded, leaning down to press a kiss against his son's head. "Yeah, for now", he smiled mischievously, his words more a promise than teasing.

**The End.**

**I'll begin by saying sorry for any inconsistencies in the factual-portion. If you find some problem with the narrative, please let me know, because my research was largely based off Google. And thanks to Dimitri's Secret Lover for naming the last chapter!  
Also, this will be the end of the story…..for now, at least, so thank you for all your kind words (and sublime threats) and support and love for the story, it meant a lot.  
A special thanks to Roza-Dimka-Reader, because if not for her, this story would've remained another lost draft on my computer, so thank you!  
And also thanks to Steph Hathaway, whom I don't think I thanked before, for leaving the first review.  
Take care, lovelies, and I hope you all enjoyed this story! It's been a privilege writing for you lot!  
Cheers!**


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